The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has announced that over 30,000 individuals living with HIV in the state are currently receiving free antiretroviral therapy, counselling, and support services across various health facilities. Governor Abiodun made the disclosure on Thursday in Abeokuta during the commissioning of a newly built Pharma-Grade Warehouse, an infrastructure executed by the Ogun State Drugs and Health Commodities Management Agency. He stated that his administration has achieved notable progress in the health sector by restructuring the medical framework for maximum efficiency, urging citizens to leverage these resources by visiting state hospitals for accurate clinical assessments and treatment.
According to the state executive, the government remains dedicated to boosting HIV prevention initiatives, broadening the reach of testing operations, and enacting policies designed to suppress new infection rates. He stated, “Today, more than 30,000 residents of Ogun State living with HIV are receiving free antiretroviral therapy, counselling, and support services. We continue to strengthen prevention programmes, expand testing services, and reduce new infections,”
Governor Abiodun highly commended the Global Fund for expanding the availability of HIV treatments nationwide, alongside its critical funding for tuberculosis screening, malaria prevention, and the distribution of vital health commodities. He remarked that the grants from the organization have provided immense relief to women, children, teenagers, vulnerable demographics, and remote populations. Describing the warehouse as a tactical infrastructure development, the governor explained that the hub would optimize how essential medications and clinical items are preserved and distributed. He stated, “The facility will strengthen supply chain efficiency, reduce stock-outs, and ensure that medicines and test kits reach healthcare facilities and patients across the 20 local government areas in a timely manner,”
While acknowledging that HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria persist as major public health hurdles within the state, Abiodun assured the public that steady advancement is being recorded through collaborative work with international partners to diminish their prevalence. Reaffirming his administration's goal to wipe out mother-to-child transmission of HIV, he added that the fight against tuberculosis has been amplified through deliberate community engagement, close contact tracing, and spatial mapping of transmission hotspots. He stated, “Access to diagnostic services, including screening, X-rays, and laboratory testing, has been expanded, while treatment remains free and accessible. Our message is clear: tuberculosis is preventable, detectable, and curable,”
The governor further lauded the Federal Government for its persistent initiatives toward optimizing the national healthcare landscape and widening public access to quality care, noting that Ogun State will maintain its alignment with federal strategies to yield verifiable health benefits for its populace. Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, noted that the state-of-the-art facility was set up to radically upgrade health service delivery across all communities. She appreciated the governor for purchasing a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography machine, a crucial tool for analyzing the chemical integrity of medications supplied to state clinics, while revealing that the administration is working to roll out a specialized technology framework to monitor and alert authorities of dwindling drug stock levels across public medical centers.
In his address, the Executive Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands, described the warehouse project as a monumental asset designed to fortify clinical delivery systems and guarantee the prompt availability of vaccines, therapeutic remedies, and diagnostics. Sands pointed out that among the 22 warehouses constructed across Nigeria, the Ogun State hub stands out as the largest and most sophisticated. He praised the strategic leadership of the state health authorities and pledged the ongoing collaboration of the Global Fund to elevate public health metrics. Emphasizing that the infrastructure was co-financed by the Global Fund and the Ogun State Government, Sands stated that the center serves as a testament to the administration's resolve to meet the medical needs of its citizens, affirming the readiness of the body to sustain its alliance with the state.
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